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'It changed my life tremendously': Kidney donor, recipient to meet for first time at MLB game

'It changed my life tremendously': Kidney donor, recipient to meet for first time at MLB game
-- LIFE-SAVING PROCEDURE. PATRICK: 12 NEWS’ DIANA GUTIERREZ SHARES THE STORY OF A WISCONSIN WOMAN WHO SAVED A MAN’S LIFE AND NOW, THEY’RE ABOUT TO MEET. >> HOPE AND PATIENCE IS WHAT BOOKER WILLIAMS FROM CALIFORNIA KEPT IN HIS BACK POCKET AS HE AWAITED A KIDNEY DONOR. >> DONATION IS HELPFUL. >> BOOKER COMES FROM A FAMILY WITH HISTORY OF PKD, POLYCYSTIC KIDNEY DISEASE, WHICH CAUSES CYSTIC GROWTH THAT CAN LEAD TO KIDNEY FAILURE. HE WAS IN STAGE THREE IN 2014 AND STARTED LOOKING FOR A DONOR. >> I WAS VERY FATIGUED. I REALLY COULDN’T MOVE. MY SENSE OF SMELL WENT UP. IT DIDN’T SMELL GOOD OR IT WAS TOO STRONG. I WOULD VOMIT. >> 2000 MILES AWAY IN SHAWANO COUNTY, LISA SORLIE FOUND OUT SHE WAS THE PERFECT MATCH. >> I DID NOT KNOW HIM. I KNEW THAT I WAS A GOOD MATCH FOR SOMEBODY, BECAUSE AND NO GIRL WANTS TO HEAR THIS, IS BECAUSE I AM A BIG PERSON. I AM OVER 6 FEET TALL, AND MY KIDNEY WAS BIG, AND SIZE WAS -- DOES MATTER. >> THEY TELL ME SURGERY WAS A SUCCESS. >> THE SURGERY WAS HARD. I DID NOT FEEL GOOD FOR A WHILE. THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS IN LIFE WHERE I DON’T FEEL GOOD, AND NOTHING HAS BEEN AS REWARDING AS IS. >> IT CHANGED MY LIFE TREMENDOUSLY, BECAUSE THAT IS MY GUARDIAN ANGEL. >> THE TWO ARE PLANNING TO MEET FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME IN MILWAUKEE. LISA IS A BREWERS FAN AND BOOKER IS A DODGERS FAN SO THEY WILL BE HERE AT AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD TO WATCH THEIR TEAMS PLAY, BUT WHATEVER THE OUTCOME, IT WILL BE MEMORABLE. PATRICK: RIGHT NOW, UW-HEALTH SHOWS 92,000 PEOPLE ARE WAITING FOR A KIDNEY. SORLIE SAYS BECOMING A DONOR COULD SAVE A
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'It changed my life tremendously': Kidney donor, recipient to meet for first time at MLB game
A Wisconsin woman, who donated a kidney to save a California man's life, is going to meet him this weekend at a Milwaukee Brewers game. Hope and patience are what Booker Williams kept in his back pocket as he awaited a kidney donor."I wouldn't be here today to share my story, so donation is very big on any level," Williams said. Booker comes from a family with a history of polycystic kidney disease, or PKD, which causes cystic growth that can lead to kidney failure.Williams was in stage three in 2014 and started looking for a donor."I was very fatigued. I really couldn't move. My sense of smell went up, so if something didn't smell good or was too strong, I would vomit," Williams said. Two thousand miles away in Shawano County, Wisconsin, Lisa Sorlie found out she was the perfect match."I didn't know him. What I did know is that I was a really good match for somebody," Sorlie said. "The reason why I was a good match — and no girl ever wants to hear this — is because I'm a big person. I'm over 6 feet tall, and my kidney was big. And size does matter."The surgery was a success."The surgery was hard. I did not feel good for a while. They don't sugar coat that. You know it's going to happen, but there's a lot of things in life where I don't feel good for a while and nothing has been as rewarding as this," Sorlie said. "It changed my life tremendously because Lisa giving me a kidney, that's like a guardian angel," Williams said.Sorlie is a Brewers fan, and Williams is a Dodgers fan, so they will be at American Family Field to watch their teams play each other on Sunday.

A Wisconsin woman, who donated a kidney to save a California man's life, is going to meet him this weekend at a Milwaukee Brewers game.

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Hope and patience are what Booker Williams kept in his back pocket as he awaited a kidney donor.

"I wouldn't be here today to share my story, so donation is very big on any level," Williams said.

Booker comes from a family with a history of polycystic kidney disease, or PKD, which causes cystic growth that can lead to kidney failure.

Williams was in stage three in 2014 and started looking for a donor.

"I was very fatigued. I really couldn't move. My sense of smell went up, so if something didn't smell good or was too strong, I would vomit," Williams said.

Two thousand miles away in Shawano County, Wisconsin, Lisa Sorlie found out she was the perfect match.

"I didn't know him. What I did know is that I was a really good match for somebody," Sorlie said. "The reason why I was a good match — and no girl ever wants to hear this — is because I'm a big person. I'm over 6 feet tall, and my kidney was big. And size does matter."

The surgery was a success.

"The surgery was hard. I did not feel good for a while. They don't sugar coat that. You know it's going to happen, but there's a lot of things in life where I don't feel good for a while and nothing has been as rewarding as this," Sorlie said.

"It changed my life tremendously because Lisa giving me a kidney, that's like a guardian angel," Williams said.

Sorlie is a Brewers fan, and Williams is a Dodgers fan, so they will be at American Family Field to watch their teams play each other on Sunday.